Four families with a total of 8 teenagers and 8 adults booked this resort last August, but Hurricane Dean blew away those plans and we re-booked for this past June. We were a little concerned about the loss of some public rooms due to the fire in the main restaurant and lobby a few months ago, but many of the posts we reviewed since then indicated that there was not much in the way of problems. And those posts were totally correct. Although the substitute lobby seemed small, the restaurant we did use was right on the beach, with breezes flowing in every night. We were at the Resort during construction, which was not very noisy, nor hurried. Much of the work was done at night, and an effort was made to keep it quiet. However, the fencing around the construction site meant that guests in Buildings 6 and 7 had to either walk along the beach to get to the pools/restaurants/bars, etc., or a service road that ran behind most of the property. Perhaps as construction gets a little more finished, the walkway along the beach will open again.

Our room was quite pleasant (in Building 7, right on the beach, with lots of privacy being at the south end of the property), and the Resort was quite accommodating in putting the families close together in Building 7. Interestingly, Building 6 also seemed very quiet, and separated from the main buildings as well. I would recommend anyone booking the superior room stay in building 6 or 7, as the walk to the restaurant at the other end of the property (despite the construction) will take less than 10 minutes. The room itself had everything as advertised - king bed, great balcony, wonderful marble shower, and rock hard beds. Oddly, we all seemed to get used to the beds. Daily maid service was excellent, and the container of bug repellent was always full, and a good thing, too.

The food was a compromise, but this too was expected, considering the price and the number of families and visitors from all over the globe. The good things were some terrific beer and passable wine; daily changes in all menus for all meals; pretty good pastries and cakes, and the local fruit and produce was always fresh and tasty. Disappointing were the 2 dinners we had in the sit down restaurant (one night Italian, one night Mexican). The food did not measure up to the buffet (faint praise, indeed), although the dining room was quite interesting, with an unused swimming pool in the center giving it a reflective quality. The teenage kids, however, never complained about the food in the buffet, nor did its inconsistency stop their appetites. Incidentally, the salsa and guacamole were terrific (served at lunch and dinner, but best near the pool). We mixed them together to form the perfect nacho dip late in the afternoon with your basic all inclusive open bar. The best food we had, though, were the shrimp tacos served at Lucy's in the village. Everything tastes better in a taco shell!

Clearly, the beach, and all that go with it make this resort the fabulous destination that it is. Every day we snorkeled with the turtles, and on several days we used the Resort's free kayaks to paddle to the bay where the turtles live. The water is crystal clear; rays and fish come right up to the beach, and the snorkelers are everywhere. Our weather was near perfect, with hardly any rain, temperatures at or near 90, and summer humidity. It is hard to imagine, given the price and incredible water activities, a better value than Akumal Beach Resort.

The four of us (my wife, myself and our best friends) arrived in Cancun on 6/7 and the bus was waiting to take us to the Akumal Beach Resort. It took about 1:45 min. but was pleasant. A great deal of the reception, main dining hall, bar and gift shop had burned in late April so we were a little concerned about the stay. Couldn't have been more wrong. Since we hadn't ever seen it we didn't miss it and therefore loved every minute of our 7 day stay. In fact, we are already booking for a 10 day stay next June, 2009.

We stayed in Building 7 (ITZA) in a Superior room overlooking the sea and it was clean, in great shape and well cared for. The bed was hard and so was the pillow but after a long day in the sun, who cares! The staff is absolutely fantastic and make your stay very enjoyable. Special thanks to Carlos at the Swing Bar, Wilbur at the Snack Bar, Maria in reception and just about everyone, particularly the Anamacion staff that work from sun up to sun down and then go entertain in the Theater at night.

It's not a 4 star place to stay but it is very relaxing and the beach is beautiful. The food is good for all 3 meals and then the two specialty restaurants particularly good. When you go please go to the village of Akumal and have dinner at LOL HA, a tremendous Sea Food restaurant just 5 minutes walk from our beach. Don't forget to take your own snorkel equipment since you will be looking at the fish, squid and big turtles on a regular basis almost every day.

Take your $1 tip money because it really does help and the staff more than deserves it. Also, take your own large insulated cups since the ones they give you at the bar are minuscule. If you want to go to Playa Del Carmen, Tulum or other places off the resort, go to the main road and flag down a "collectivo". They are small (8-12 passengers) buses with AC and clean, no chickens or goats allowed. A round trip for 4 to Tulum only cost about $6 where as a taxi is about $40.

All the damaged area will be completed by the end of September according to the manager and the way they were working, I believe them. The owner is Italian so about 85% of the people are from Italy. English speaking people get a green arm band, Italian get a blue one, Spanish get a red one and a pink one means they are under 18 and can't be served any alcohol, which there is plenty of. The Italians are nice people, just learn to say good morning (bon jorno) and good evening (?) in Italian and all is well. We didn't have a bad moment for the entire 7 day stay.

We will be there in June, 2009 for our second stay,

Ron & Maria
Craig & Cheryl
Houston, Texas

This was our 4th visit to this resort. unfortunately, we found out about the fire that destroyed the main restaurant, the lobby, the main bar, gift shop, and public seating areas only two days before we went. If we had been told about the fire when it happened on April 28, we would have tried to reschedule to another hotel. However, Apple Vacations would allow no other possibilities for usat that late date. Of course, a huge burn area such as that affects the resort! This is the first and only time that we have gotten sick at the ABR. We will probably go back when the place is redone--but if you have a trip there anytime soon you might want to reconsider before it's too late. We won't book Apple again!

Great place to stay - definitely not "uppity" so if you are looking for that type of place do not stay here. The rooms have a great view of the ocean, the beach is beautiful! Everyone who worked there was very friendly. The tips are included and I read some reviews that said to tip more to get better service and I did not find that at all. I got great service! The bartender had my mojitos ready for me every 20 minutes. The main buffet had burned down not too long before we got there but they accomodated nicely and I would definitely recommend to stay again. I wouldn't say it was super kid friendly but that was okay as I was leaving mine behind. Overall for the value, the food was great, rooms great, drinks were not watered down, it was a perfect little getaway for me and my husband.